Category Archives: Personal Injury

Dec 13

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Were you or a loved one injured in an automobile accident in Roswell, Alpharetta, or Milton or the surrounding areas? Immediately following an accident, it can be difficult to focus and determine what to do next.

Additional Resources available from the Hernan Law Firm for victims of auto accidents (coming soon):

What to do at the scene of the accident?

To Go or Not To Go (Treatment at the Emergency Room Following an Accident)

Information to Gather from the At Fault Driver

Demonstrative Evidence (Pictures, videos and more)

Don’t Forget the Witnesses

Gaps in Medical Treatment

Obtaining Copies of Medical Records

For loved ones, sometimes it can involve a frantic search to locate the hospital or other medical facility where a family member or friend was taken. The following list includes some of the area hospital where individuals may be taken following an accident in Roswell, an accident in Alpharetta or an accident in Milton or the surrounding areas. Note that Grady Memorial Hospital is the closest Level I trauma center and North Fulton Hospital is rated as a Level II trauma center (as is Children’s Healthcare in the pediatric field). Click here for more information on trauma center designations.

* Note: The information contained in this post is provided as a public service and neither constitutes legal advice nor an endorsement of or by any of the providers listed on this page.

Jul 12

Treating catastrophic and other serious trauma related injuries from automobile, motorcycle or trucking accidents in the state of Georgia

When involved in a serious automobile accident in Georgia, close proximity to a Level One Trauma Center can be the difference between life & death. Georgia currently has five hospitals with the distinction.

What is a Level One Trauma Center?

A Level One Trauma Center refers to the capabilities of a hospital to serve the critical needs of patients severely injured through a trauma related incident, whether from an automobile, motorcycle or trucking accident (or another cause of trauma related injury). As the highest trauma center rating in the state, hospitals strive to maintain the distinction.

To be designated as a Level One Trauma Center by the Georgia Department of Community Health, a hospital must be able to prove that it staffs its emergency department and trauma operating room at all times with a full team of doctors including surgical staff in different disciplines such as neurological or orthopedic specialty areas. It must show it has the best equipment and resources available to treat patients with catastrophic injuries (whether from an automobile, motorcycle or trucking accident or other traumatic injury). And, it must be able to show that it treats a high volume of trauma related patients throughout the year. Individuals critically injured in an automobile accident will increase their chance of survival by up to 25% by receiving treatment in a Level One Trauma Center, according to the Atlanta Medical Center.

The Georgia Trauma Commission (www.georgiatraumacommission.org) was established to promote the long term development of the trauma care network in the State of Georgia and identify limitations and develop a long term vision for an enhanced network capable of best serving patients in critical need of trauma related care in Georgia. The Commission recently developed a strategic plan to help it realize its vision to expand the system, help reduce traumatic injury, coordinate with disaster/homeland security preparedness, enhance support for rural Georgia and more.

The five Level One Trauma Centers in the State of Georgia serving severely injured automobile, motorcycle and trucking accident victims are:

GRADY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

Address:

80 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive SE

Atlanta, GA 30303

Telephone: (404) 616-1000

Grady was well known in the Metro Atlanta area as being the only Level 1 Trauma Center in the area for a long time (until Atlanta Medical Center was recognized as a Level One Trauma Center in 2011). The hospital’s emergency department treats upwards of 300 patients per day (that’s 100,000 per year). Of those, upwards of 3,000 are trauma patients each year.

In partnership with Emory University and Morehouse School of Medicine, Grady is able to operate a trauma operating room that never closes, staffed with a surgical team from many medical disciplines.

ATLANTA MEDICAL CENTER

Address:

303 Parkway Drive NE

Atlanta, GA 30312

Telephone: (404) 265-4000

The third busiest trauma center in the State of Georgia, Atlanta Medical Center recently was awarded the distinction as a Level One Trauma Center in 2011.

MEDICAL CENTER OF CENTRAL GEORGIA

Address:

777 Hemlock Street

Macon, GA 31201

Telephone: (478) 633-1000

Located in Macon, the Medical Center of Central Georgia is the second largest hospital in Georgia and provides the only Level One Trauma Center in its region of the state. The Emergency & Urgent Care Services unit at the Medical Center of Central Georgia serves approximately 65,000 patients per year. The hospital’s EMS department generally serves patients from Baldwin, Bibb, Jones and Twiggs counties.

GEORGIA HEALTH SCIENCES MEDICAL CENTER

(formerly Medical College of Georgia)

Address:

1120 15th St

Augusta, GA 30912

Telephone: (706) 721-3153

Serving over 13 counties, the hospital at the Georgia Health Sciences University (formerly referred to as the Medical College of Georgia ) in August, Georgia serves thousands of patients each year as the only Level One Trauma Center in its region.

MEMORIAL HEALTH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

Address:

4700 Waters Avenue

Savannah, GA 31404

Telephone: (912) 350-8000

As the only Level One Trauma Center in the southeastern corner of the state, Memorial Health University Medical Center’s emergency services unit serves approximately 80,000 patients per year. The hospital serves 28 counties in Georgia and South Carolina.

Jul 12

As members of a commonly misunderstood health care profession, doctors of chiropractic (chiropractors) are constantly having to fight against the misconception that their area of treatment is hokey, ineffective or misguided. However, speak to most people treated by chiropractors after a car accident and they will usually tell you that they experienced the greatest relief and best moved along the path to recovery from their soft tissue injuries after the treatment from their chiropractor.

Chiropractors focus on musculoskeletal and nervous system disorders, using a variety of treatment methods including, but not limited to, spinal manipulation, hot/cold therapy, electrical stimulation, exercises and more. Their treatment plans are often combined with physical therapy treatment and oversight by a medical doctor.

But, again, why chiropractic? Chiropractic care is a well regulated, organized complementary and alternative medical treatment option. The manual therapy and hands-on approach of chiropractic care often provides patients with greater relief than traditional medical treatments (physiotherapy, medicine, counseling and education). Of course, chiropractic care is not appropriate for many types of injuries, especially those that may require more specialized care, surgical intervention or complex treatment. Chiropractic care can be complementary to other treatment regiments from medical doctors, therapists, counselors, and other providers.

Chiropractors and medical doctors have not always worked well together. As discussed in a 1989 letter to the editor in the American Journal of Public Health, the AMA declared in 1965 that it would be an ethical violation for medical doctors to associate professionally with chiropractors. It ultimately took a judge’s order, resulting from an anti-trust suit filed by chiropractors against the AMA, for the AMA to reverse course. That hard line stance has softened over the years. A 1992 opinion by the AMA states that:

” It is ethical for a physician to associate professionally with chiropractors provided that the physician believes that such association is in the best interests of his or her patient. A physician may refer a patient for diagnostic or therapeutic services to a chiropractor permitted by law to furnish such services whenever the physician believes that this may benefit his or her patient. Physicians may also ethically teach in recognized schools of chiropractic.” –Opinion 3.041, Issued March 1992

Recognizing the benefits of chiropractic care in appropriate situations, now medical doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists work side by side to develop treatment plans that are in the best interests of their patients and promote the most effective and efficient recovery from injuries sustained in an auto accident.

It is the hands on approach of chiropractic care that uses spinal manipulation and other treatments to help promote the natural healing capabilities of the human body. Rather than relying simply on medication and home care exercises, chiropractic techniques essentially work with the body’s own healing mechanisms and ultimately can help relieve pain, promote health, increase range of motion and help auto accident victims to try to return to their normal, daily routine.

When choosing a chiropractor, patients need to be sure to select a provider that is well informed in the latest chiropractic techniques, knows the patient’s history, has the proper equipment and resources to ensure that the patient is not suffering from an injury that needs a different method of treatment or that could be exacerbated by manipulation, and that cares about promoting the recovery of the patient rather than simply pushing them through a cookie cutter treatment plan.

According to WebMD, research supports the benefits of chiropractic care for back and neck pain and relief from headaches. A vast majority of personal injury attorneys would likely attest that the majority of their clients suffering from soft tissue injuries obtain significant relief from the treatment afforded by chiropractors. And, many insurance companies now recognize the benefits of chiropractic care and include such treatment in the covered options of their plans (albeit sometimes with limitations of the number or type of treatments that are authorized).

For information about the benefits of chiropractic care, individuals injured in an auto accident should consult with their doctors about whether such care would be appropriate and set up an appointment with a chiropractor to better understand how he or she can help promote the patient’s recovery.

Sources:

American Chiropractic Association (www.acatoday.org)

National Center for Biotechnology Information website publication of a 1989 publication of the American Journal of Public Health (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1349822/pdf/amjph00237-0113b.pdf)